Co-op Foundation, the charitable arm of the Co-op, has announced it is funding seven companies focused on producing food while protecting peatlands.
In what represents round three of its Carbon Innovation Fund (CIF), a three-year £3.5 million partnership with Co-op to support organisations with positive environmental credentials, the foundation’s £1 million of grant money is being distributed in the name of protecting peatlands.
All seven organisations benefiting from the funding are based in the UK, and are developing innovative ways to grow food without damaging precious UK peatlands which are considered to be some of the most carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth. Peatlands store significant levels of carbon and help cool the planet, support biodiversity, and reduce the risk of flooding.
Because peatland is nutrient rich, it is sometimes drained to grow crops and broken up to put the peat into compost – a process that causes greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The new CIF partners
Co-op Foundation says it is looking forward to its new partnerships with the following companies…
Algae Products International Ltd
- Has been awarded £150,000 to develop soil additives from algae, without using peat or emitting carbon.
- Soil additives could be used for fertiliser, or alternatives to grazing for animals.
- Has received £148,181 to develop sustainable techniques for growing food crops on peat soils.
- By growing on peatland more saturated with water, the trust hopes to reduce GHG emissions whilst maintaining economically viable food production.
- Has received £149,499 to support the development of a more local food system on Uist in the Outer Hebrides in a way that will protect the peatland in the area.
- This work can alleviate food insecurity.
- Has received £81,831 to work with farmers to develop action plans on how to maintain or improve income and calorie output from their farms, while delivering lowland peatland restoration and sustainable farming.
- Has received £150,000 to test new ways to sow, manage and monitor crops sustainably on peatlands and test their suitability as food for livestock.
- The work demonstrates wet farming techniques that can be scaled up if needed.
- Has received £122,957 for a three-year project which looks to de-mystify food waste management, regulation, and processing, while creating a peat-free compost for its local community.
- Has received £148,200 to develop compost using worms that is easily replicable and at a large enough scale to be used on farms.
- Such a method would make it possible for market gardens to produce their own high-quality peat-free compost to grow vegetables.
This latest round of grant-making focused on companies producing food while protecting peatlands adds to the £1.4 million from round one of the CIF, and a further £1.1 million distributed in round two.
CIF is funded through Co-op donations which are sourced from the sale of its compostable carrier bags in the UK, as well as the foundation’s own funds.
[image credit: Green Retail World]
